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In their 2015 article on stuntwomen, Miranda J. Banks and Lauren Steimer argue that the figure of the stunt double is subjected to a process of erasure throughout the production of the action film or series, and most certainly in popular press accounts that promote the idea of stars (both male and female) as the performers of their own stunts. This erasure is also evident in the comparative lack of scholarly work on the labour-intensive – and often life-threatening – contributions made by stunt performers to the on-screen fantasy of the kick-ass action star. The Bond franchise has seen its female characters increasingly defined by their all-action credentials and, consequently, the size of the stunt team has grown with a higher number of female stunt performers being included. This article looks at how stuntwomen have contributed to the spectacle of the Bond franchise, including driver Jessica Hawkins and the much in demand Marie Mouroum, both of whom worked on No Time to Die (2021). As behind-the-scenes footage of most action franchises becomes more available and often forms part of the marketing of franchise cinema, including the Bond films, the concept of erasure will be examined in relation to these contemporary contexts of production. The increased diversity of action heroines also opens up sites of exploration around women of colour as part of these production processes, both on-screen and behind the scenes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chickasaw, Choctaw, Cherokee, Muscogee, and Seminole citizens employed the Indian Territory exhibits at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition to advance the separate statehood movement. Increasingly shut out of the formal political realm, they adopted creative measures to exert their political will, including participating in the world's fair. Employing insights from settler-colonial theory and public history, this paper argues that the politics of display expanded the agency of a group marginalized from political representation. The U.S. government, pressured by the territory's growing population of non-Native settlers, had begun planning for statehood, passing the 1898 Curtis Act to force allotment and dissolve the Five Tribes' governments by 1906. To protect their land and sovereignty, a cohort of Native citizens pursued statehood for Indian Territory separate from Oklahoma Territory. Although joint statehood won out, separate statehood advocates succeeded in creating exhibits that centered on the survival of Native nations. They also articulated an Indigenous conception of citizenship, developing an imaginative vision for a future in which self-determination and U.S. citizenship could converge in a Native state. This represented a novel contribution to ongoing debates over how to integrate remaining western territories into the United States and how to incorporate diverse peoples within the citizenry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented which discusses various reports on the issues of aging prevalent in action films, including "Da 5 Bloods" by Spike Lee, "The Irishman" by Martin Scorsese, and "The Expendables 2" by Simon West.

"Western Lands, Western Voices: Essays on Public History in the American West" is a collection of essays edited by Gregory E. Smoak that explores public history in the American West. The book covers topics such as public lands, Native sovereignty, cultural diversity, and frontier myths. It emphasizes the importance of shared authority and collaboration with community partners in public history work. The volume also addresses the relationship between public and academic history and provides valuable insights for historians and graduate students. Another book mentioned in the text, "Time in the Wilderness: The Formative Years of John 'Black Jack' Pershing in the American West" by Tim McNeese, is a well-researched biography that focuses on Pershing's military career prior to World War I. [Extracted from the article]

This article examines the figure of Modesty Blaise as an action heroine in the canon of British espionage texts. It argues that the character and her stories offer multiple, liminal spaces for investigating and challenging ideas about gender, nation and class. It also addresses the current landscape of action-adventure films at a time when there are increased calls for more female-centric vehicles and gender-blind casting. While the gender politics of the Modesty Blaise franchise make for fascinating analysis, they are also played out against a backdrop of global politics. This can be seen in the first of the novels – simply entitled ModestyBlaise (1965) – and to some extent in Joseph Losey's loose adaptation of the book in 1966. Modesty's employment by the British secret service coincides with the dismantling of the British Empire, and the negotiation of gender identity that is a recurring theme in the stories intersects with the post-imperial, post-colonial concerns that dominated geopolitics at the time the original texts were released. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the authors discuss articles in the issue on topics including the representations of Sherlock Holmes in World War II, spy cinema in the 1960s, and the television and cinema versions of "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy."

The article examines depictions of the return of kings in motion pictures. Particular focus is given to films including "King Arthur," directed by Antoine Fuqua and "The Lord of the Rings," directed by Peter Jackson. Additional topics discussed include issues of national identity and nationhood in contemporary Great Britain, Britishness and the writings of the author J. R. R. Tolkien.

In 1949 the German-bornauteurMax Ophüls made two films that addressed issues of post-war ideology and society in America.Caughtengages with the commodification of the female subject and the preoccupation with capitalist success, both of which are promulgated through aspects of the media as represented in the film.The Reckless Momentexamines the stultifying confines of the family unit and the hypocrisy surrounding notions of class and social standing within American society. Ophüls uses his trademark visual style to frame and interrogate the characters and themes; and in both films the British actor James Mason takes lead roles, his European ‘otherness’ providing the filter through which Ophüls’ indictment of the dominant social order in the post-war period is viewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article looks at the role of two of the most iconic figures in American popular culture: the gangster and the westerner. Drawing on genre theory from film and television, the way in which the westerner has been displaced by the gangster as the most common signifier of American identity is explored, focussing specifically on the television series Justified (2010-). The southern location of the series further complicates the set of referents by mobilizing aspects of Southern Gothic. While the western and the gangster film have often been viewed as oppositional in terms of location, era and their respective musings on and articulation of American identity, this article argues that the hybridity of genres in popular culture opens up a wider space in which to address aspects of myth, history and social concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]